Wire packaging machine



Feb; 5, 1963 M. A. NYE ETAL WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 27, 1959 INVENTORS.

A. NYE 8 mfildya ATTORNEYS Feb. 5, 1963 M. A. NYE ETAL WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 27, 1959 FIG. 2

INVENTORS. MAURICE A NYE 8 JESS c. BI'I'TMAN UMJIZay a ATTORNEYS Feb. 5, 1963 M. A. NYE ETAL WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 2'7, 1959 S. M M w W.

MAURICE A. NYE 8| JESS C.BITTMAN BY ammmalpflmwg ATTORNEYS Feb. 5, 1963 M. A. NYE ETAL 3,076,519

WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE Filed July 27, 1959 4 hee se 4 F I G. 5

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1 i -fi 52 58 FIG. 6

W i-i iir i i 7 H/ A V/ 7 H I\ I W INVENTORS.

MAURICE A. NYE 8:

JESS C. BITTMAN ATTORNEYS United States PatentG 3,076,619 WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE Maurice A. Nye and Jess C. Bittman, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, assignors to The Vaughn Machinery Company, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed July 27, 1.959, Ser. No. 829,607 1 Claim. (Cl. 242-84) The present invention relates generally as indicated to a wire packaging machine and more particularly to a live block-live coil machine.

In such live block-live coil machine there is provided a take-up block or capstan, around whichwire is wrapped when the capstan is rotated and thus drawn through a die for example, the convolutions of the wire being fed from the capstan into a rotating wire-receiving drum or the like that is supported on a rotating turntable disposed beneath the capstan. In order that a machine of this type may be continuously operated there is usually provided an accumulator which is adapted to be inserted between the capstan and the wire-receiving drum to hold an accumulation of wire convolutions coming off the capstan during the interval of time that the drum and the completed coil therein is removed from the turntable and the next empty drum put in its place.

It is one principal object of this invention to provide a live block-live coil wire packaging machine in which an accumulator and a drum-supporting turntable are driven alternately and automatically, according to the-number of convolutions of the wire in the receiving drum.

It is another object of this invention to provide a machine of the character indicated in which the capstan and turntable may be driven at different speeds to package the wire in coil form of desired diameter.

It is another object of this invention to provide a machine in which the capstan is of the inverted type wherein the wire is wrapped around an upwardly facing beveled shoulder of the capstan and the convolutions are shoved up progressively with the top convolution coming off the capstan and dropping down by gravity into a receiving drum, or onto the accumulator, as the case may be.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully desecribed and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment ofthe invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in Which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view, showing one of a line of live block-live coil machines, the accumulator between the draw block and the wire-receiving drum being shown in its inactive or inoperative position, permitting the convolutions of wire to be fed from the draw block into the drum;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section view taken substantially along the line 2-2, FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view taken substantially along the line 3--3, FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section view taken substantially along the line 4-4, FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of the turntable drive mechanism, such section having been taken substantially along the line 55, FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross-section views taken substantially along the lines 6-6 and 7-7, FIG. 5.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings and first to FIG. 1, the machine 1 herein comprises an upper head 2 secured at its ends to beams 3, the beams 3 being supported on the upper ends of posts 4. In FIG. 1 only one beam and post 4 has been shown but it is to be understood that there may be provided a long line of heads 2 each provided with a pair of takeup blocks or capstans 5 driven by a line shaft 6, and with accumulator 7 associated coaxially with the respective capstans 5 driven by a line shaft 8. Beneath each capstan 5 is a turntable 9 driven by line shaft 10 upon which a wire-receiving drum D is adapted to be supported.

At one end of the line of packaging machines 1 there will be an electric drive motor for the shaft 6 which drives the line of capstans 5 and similarly there will be another electric drive motor for both the accumulator drive shaft 8 and the turntable drive shaft 10 for driving the line of accumulators 7 and the line of turntables 9.

As best shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the upper head 2 has cartridge bearings 11 mounted therein in which the vertical tubular shaft 12 is journalled. Fixed to the lower end of the shaft 12 is the hub of the take-up block or capstan 5, and fixed to the upper end of shaft 12 is a worm wheel 14 with which is meshed a driving worm 15 on shaft 6.

The capstan 5 has an upwardly and inwardly beveled shoulder 16 which is engaged by the incoming wire W and when the capstan 5 is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow, the wire W wrapped thereabout forms convolutions that are progressively shoved upwardly by the action of the wire W against the beveled shoulder 16. Preferably, there is mounted on the head 2 a depending pressure roller 17 which holds the convolutions against the tapered periphery of the capstan 5. When the top convolution of wire W has been shoved above the pressure roller 17 it is free to drop down by gravity in coil form, asshown in FIG. 1, into a wire-receiving drum D that is adapted to be supported on the turntable 9. As apparent, when the turntable 9 is driven at the same speed as the capstan 5, the wire convolutions will be accumulated in the drum D to form a coil of about the same diameter as the capstan 5. However, if a package or coil of larger diameter is desired the turntable 9 will be driven at a slower speed than the capstan 5. A coil of varying diameter for neatness and compactness may be formed by driving the turntable 9 at varying'speeds.

Referring further to FIG. 1, and also to FIGS. 2 to 4 there is journal in the aforesaid tubular capstan drive shaft 12 another tubular shaft 20, as in the sleeve bearing 21 and ball bearing 22. Keyed on the lower end of said inner tubular shaft 20 is the accumulator plate 23 from which several lugs depend downwardly, four, for example, to which accumulator fingers 24tare pivotally connected. The shaft 20 is driven as by a worm wheel 25 affixed to the upper end thereof which meshes with a worm 26 on drive shaft 8. Axial-1y reciprocable in the inner tubular shaft 20 is the accumulator actuating rod 27 which has its upper end connected to the piston rod 28 of a pneumatic cylinder 29, and which has rotatably connected to its lower end a cross-head 30 which, by way of the links 31, are connected with the inner and upper ends of the accumulator fingers 24 in a manner such that when the piston in the cylinder 29 is moved downwardly, the accumulator fingers 24 are swung outwardly to horizontal position to intercept the descent of the convolutions of wire W coming off from the top of the capstan 5 above the pressure roller 17. The reference numeral 32 in FIGS. 2 and 3 denotes a solenoid operated four-way valve which actuates the cylinder 29 to move the piston down or up according to whether the accumulator fingers 24 are to be swung out to active horizontal position or swung in to inactive vertical position.

The drive for the capstan includes the worm shaft driven by the drive shaft 6 throu an electromagnetic or like clutch which, when energized, causes power to be transmitted from the drive shaft 6 to the worm shaft 15, the drive shaft 6 being suitably coupled, as aforesaid, to an electric drive motor or the like.

Similarly, the worm shaft 26 for the accumulator 7 drive is driven by the drive shaft 8 through a suitable clutch such as an electromagnetic clutch 36. Preferably, a predetermining counter 33 is mounted on the head 2 of the machine to energize the accumulator clutch 36 when a predetermined number of convolutions of the wire W have accumulated in the receiving drum D; to deenergize a similar clutch on the turntable drive shaft 10; and to energize the solenoid valve 32 to cause the rod 27 to move downwardly and thereby swing the fingers 24 to horizontal position. The Wire W may be cut and the drum D may be removed from the turntable 9 and an empty drum D substituted. In the meantime, the convolutions of wire W will build up On the accumulator fingers 24 as a hank which will drop down into the empty dmm D when the fingers 24 are swung down to vertical position.

The counter 38 is driven by a gear 39 on the worm shaft 15, the gear 39' being meshed with a gear 40 on jack shaft 41. In turn, the rotation of the jack shaft 41 is transmitted to the counter 38 through a cog belt 42 or the like.

The entire machine 1 may be stopped by actuating the emergency stop lever 43 which through a suitable cable deenergizes the capstan drive clutch 3 5.

The arrangement is preferably such that when the tumtable 9 and rotation is discontinued, the clutch 36 for the accumulator 7 is automatically engaged to thus drive the shaft 20 for the accumulator 7. This may be accomplished by the counter 38 through the circuits C and C for the clutches 60 and 36 respectively, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The turntable 9, as best shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 is keyed on a vertical shaft which is journalled in a cartridge-type bearing 51 secured on a housing 52 disposed in a tunnel 53 in the floor F. The lower end of the shaft 50 is supported in an antifriction bearing 54, and above that bearing, the shaft 50 has keyed thereon a worm wheel 55 driven by a worm shaft 56 and the worm shaft 56, in turn, is provided with a gear 57 meshing with a gear 58 on the drive shaft 10. Again, as in connection with the other drives, there is provided a suitable clutch, such as an electromagnetic clutch 60,

which, when energized, effects transmission of power from drive shaft 10 to the turntable 9. As previously mentioned, the same motor that drives the turntable 9 may be used to drive the accumulator 7 through the shaft 8.

Thus, it can be seen that we have provided a simple and novel form of drive for a live block-live coil wire packaging machine 1, and a simple form of accumulator 7 which makes possible the continuous operation of the wire packaging machine.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

In a wire packaging machine, the combination of a vertical rotary takeup block and drive means therefor operative to wrap Wire therearound to form convolutions that descend continuously by gravity from said block; a rotary turntable and drive means therefor, said turntable being disposed beneath said block and adapted to support a wire-receiving drum thereon into which the convolutions descend to form an upwardly growing package; an accumulator disposed between said block and turntable and drive means operative to rotate said accumulator in the same direction as said turntable; an actuator operative to move said accumulator from an inactive position whereat such convolutions descend therepast to an active position whereat the descent of the convolutions is arrested; means responsive to a predetermined number of convolutions built up on said turntable operative to render said drive means for said turntable ineffective to drive the latter whereby the completed package may be removed therefrom, to energize said actuator to move said accumulator to active position, and to render said drive means for said accumulator effective to drive the latter for accumulating the descending convolutions thereon, said drive means for said turntable and said accumulator being coupled thereto respectively by electromagnetic clutches, said means responsive to a predetermined number of convolutions built up on said turntable controlling energization of said clutches alternately to drive said turntable and said accumulator, said accumulator comprising a rotary shaft, accumulator fingers pivotally connected between their ends to said shaft for swinging movement from downwardly extending inactive position to generally horizontally extending active position, said actuator comprising a vertically reciprocable piston rod of a pistoncylinder assembly extending through said shaft and pivotally connected to the upper ends of said fingers, actuation of said assembly being controlled by a solenoid operated valve, said valve, in turn, being operated by said means responsive to a predetermined number of convolutions built up on said turntable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,122,485 Nelson July 5, 1938 2,149,851 MacLeod Mar. 7, 1939 2,157,811 Beach May 9, 1939 2,600,841 Bruestle June 17, 1952 2,736,346 Ammann Feb. 28, 1956 2,929,577 Henning Mar. 22, 1960 2,957,640 Lewis Oct. 25, 1960 2,981,494 Kov aleski Apr. 25, 1961 

